Review: Malignant Man #2 (of 4)

Posted By:BrandonBarrows

Tue, 05/17/2011 - 23:55

The first issue of this book was fairly good. I was skeptical when I first heard of it, but Michael Alan Nelson is a very good writer and he overcame my initial suspicion of the book’s theme and premise. This current issue has lost a bit of the intrigue that captured my attention, but has picked up steam in the action department.

Last issue, we were introduced to a man named Alan with terminal cancer who, after being told told his last chance has failed, prepares himself for death that appears close at hand. While involving himself in an armed mugging, he is wounded in a manner that should have been fatal to a healthy man. Miraculously, this “dying” man not only lives but makes a full and nearly instantaneous recovery both from his wounds and the cancer. Shortly after, Alan and the hospital are attacked by a group of strangely-armed men and Alan is rescued by a woman with similar abilities.

In the current issue, we pick up right where we left off. The first part of the book is mildly expository, but then we kick into an action scene as Alan discovers a bit of his new powers, killing a number of his attackers in the process. Much of the rest of the book is heavily expositive and while some of the information is necessary to include the story, it seemed a little heavy-handed. Personally, I would rather a book showed me rather than simply told me what was going on, but I suppose this could have been handled in worse ways.

Piotr Kowalski is a perfectly capable artist and this book is done in the house style Boom! has developed for itself. While I would prefer a bit more variety in artistic styles, ultimately I have nothing to say about this art that isn’t complimentary.

As I’ve said before, Michael Alan Nelson is a very good writer and I’ve enjoyed a number of his works for Boom! studios. This book has already had some ups and downs in terms of capturing my attention, but it is still holding it enough that I will read the next issue.